A brief summary of the energy resources of Georgia is given below:

1.3 Oil, Gas and Coal

+13 °C +40 °C -15 °C 500 mm 3.1 m/sec 1 370 kW/m 313 days/year 2 107 hours/year 46 %

There are small amounts of oil in Samgori region (east Georgia) and along the Black Sea shelf near Supsa (west Georgia). Also, small amounts of natural gas exist in east Georgia. Coal is mined in Abkhazia and near Kutaisi (west Georgia), but between 1976 and 1991 output fell nearly 50 percent, to about 1 million tons annually. The largest deposits, both in Abkhazia, are estimated to contain 250 million tons and 80 million tons, respectively. Domestic coal provides half of the requirement of Rustavi metallurgical plant.

1.4 Solar Radiation

Solar radiation varies significantly at different locations in Georgia. Also, there is a large difference in sunshine hours between summer and winter. Average monthly sunshine in summer months reaches 225-300 hours, but drops to 50-75 hours in winter. Generally, eastern Georgia is much sunnier and drier than the western part of the country. Tables 1 & 2 present the distribution of annual and monthly solar radiation data for Tbilisi and a number of other sites throughout Georgia.

SHAPE * MERGEFORMAT

Month Monthly average daily radiation on horizontal surface (kWh/m2/d) Monthly average temperature (°C) January 1.47 1.7 February 2.14 2.9 March 3.14 6.9 April 4.44 12.8 May 5.42 17.4 June 6.14 21.2 July 6.11 24.4 August 5.25 23.7 September 4.11 19.6 October 2.69 13.5 November 1.64 8.1 December 1.25 3.8 Table 1. Monthly Average Daily Values of Solar Radiation for Tbilisi.2

4 Prepared by International Energy Center ENECO based on following sources: a) “Spravochnik po klimatu SSSR, vipusk 14, Solnechnaiy radiatsiya, radiatsionni balans i solnechnoe siyanie”. Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1968; b) Gvasalia N. V., “Teplovoi balans Gruzii”. Tbilisi, izdatelstvo "Metsniereba", 1986.

Zone # Site Annual Total MonthlyTotal Radiation Radiation on a (kWh/m2) Horizontal Surface June December (kWh/m2) Ю CD О Ю CD о

1 Anaseuli 1334 166 133 51 76 2 Supsa 1337 173 138 44 66 3 Mtsvane Kontskhi 1277 183 146 46 69 I 4 Senaki 1258 182 145 50 75 5 Sokhumi 1350 192 154 41 61 6 Lanchkhuti 1310 178 143 47 70 7 Zugdidi 1422 176 141 45 67 8 Ambrolauri 1459 176 141 45 67 9 Pasanauri 1480 177 142 66 99 10 Kvareli 1453 195 156 63 94 11 Manglisi 1489 187 149 51 76 12 Gagra 1427 186 149 51 76 II 13 Oni 1478 177 142 66 99 14 Tsageri 1444 177 142 60 90 15 Jvari 1442 173 133 57 85 16 Khaishi 1464 176 141 67 100 17 Tsalka 1395 175 140 53 79 18 Telavi 1388 187 149 50 75 19 Tbilisi 1370 185 148 43 64 20 Koruldashi 1566 186 149 68 102 21 Omalo 1570 182 146 69 103 III 22 Bakuriani 1566 189 151 58 87 23 Avadhara 1550 196 157 60 90 24 Mestia 1520 188 150 65 97 25 Shovi 1500 220 176 65 97 IV 26 Jvari pass 1670 197 158 78 117 27 Gudauri 1644 197 158 80 120 V 28 Kazbegi m/m 1797 135 188 74 111 29 Mamisoni pass 1750 204 163 75 112

Zone Annual Total Radiation (kWh/m2) Daily Radiation (kWh/m2) 1250 — 1350 3.6 II 1350 — 1500 3.9 III 1500 — 1600 4.2 IV 1600 — 1700 4.5 V 1700 — 1800 4.8 Table 2. Distribution of Annual Solar Radiation Throughout Georgia.4

1.5 Wind

Although Georgia is not a very windy country, there are several promising locations with high average annual wind speeds. One of them is Mount Sabueti (1248 m) with an average annual wind speed of 9.1 m/s.[37] Later measurements, conducted for a short period of time (August 1998 — September 1999) by Renewable Energy Resources Department of “Energogeneratsia” (State Power Generation Company of Georgia), yielded 7.52 m/s at 50 m height. Several other promising sites for future wind park developments are mountainous surroundings of Tbilisi, Didi Digomi district of Tbilisi, Tbilisi Sea area, Poti port on the Black Sea shore and Chorokhi river canyon in Ajara (south-west Georgia). The total wind potential that could be tapped for power generation is estimated as 4.5 billion kWh per year.[38]

1.6 Hydro Power

Georgia is very rich with hydro energy resources. There are more than 26 000 rivers with, according to some estimates, the ability to generate over 80 billion kWh per year. Currently less than 10 % of their potential is tapped.

1.7 Geothermal

Total geothermal water resources of Georgia are projected to be up to 250 Mln m3/year. For present day, up to 300 springs with 50°-110°C water temperature are registered. Currently operating geothermal wells provide approximately 60 000 m3/day debit. Some good sources of geothermal hot water are listed below:

• 85°-100°C natural flow field in Zugdidi area (western Georgia) — The wells need rehabilitation.

• 60°C natural flow field near Lisi Lake in Tbilisi — 4000 m3/day debit. The wells need rehabilitation. This field supplies hot water to Tbilisi’s Saburtalo district.

• 55°C natural flow field in the Vardzia area (southern Georgia) — 240 m3/day debit.